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Players Promote Youth Volunteerism Through New PSA campaign

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New York, NY, Friday, November 17, 2017 … Major League baseball players and Volunteers of America are continuing their efforts to inspire the next generation of volunteers by launching a new TV and social media public service announcement campaign, titled “Difference Makers.”

The PSA campaign was created to shine a spotlight on the selfless community service work of two high school students serving as Action Team Captains – Rachel from Cleveland, OH and Hishaam from Tampa, FL. Rachel and Hishaam represent the hundreds of Action Team Captains across the United States who are making a difference in their communities by creating and organizing volunteer projects as members of the Action Team national youth volunteer program.

The campaign features traditional :30 and :60 spots as well as two long-form social media/web videos that capture a day in the life of Rachel and Hishaam, including surprise visits from Major League baseball players Tim Beckham, Lonnie Chisenhall and Kevin Kiermaier.

The campaign was directed by Andrew Vallentine, an LA-based video producer who has worked with Mercedes Benz, the ad council and Goodwill; and he has created music videos and narrative content for top social media influencers such as Joey Graceffa, Ricky Dillon, Shane Dawson, Trisha Paytas, and others. Andrew's work has generated more than 100 million views across various social media platforms in the past 2 years.

The “Difference Makers” campaign seeks to encourage students, teachers and administrators to volunteer through the high school-based Action Team program, administered by the Major League Baseball Players Trust and Volunteers of America.

This school-year, Major Leaguers and more than 500 Action Team Captains in 100 high schools across the country are working together to inspire and train the next generation of volunteers. The Action Team program continues to add new schools regularly, and since its inception in 2003, it has inspired more than 100,000 high school students to help more than 305,000 people in need.

The Action Team is free to join and Captains receive free posters and T-shirts to help support their efforts. They are also eligible to receive college scholarships from the Players Trust and they are invited to attend regional Action Team service projects featuring Major Leaguers. In recognition of their efforts and accomplishments, they receive free tickets to Major League baseball games and certificates of achievement signed by Major Leaguers near the end of the school year.